Romeo and Juliet.

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Introduction

Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare was a very prominent playwright for his time, he lived in a very rigid society where women were classed as below men and that wasn't about to change. He wrote many of his plays for Queen Elizabeth I as she had a great enjoyment for theatre. This society was very passionate about religion and were all god fearing people, but at this time England was in great turmoil as Elizabeth's father Henry VIII had turned they country from Catholic to Protestant. There were many arguments and debates about which church England should belong to, I think that these issues are reflected by the ancient grudge. In the play Romeo and Juliet we see many kinds of conflict. One of which I'm going to focus on which is the conflict of love and hate. The love between Romeo and Juliet is violent, ecstatic and overpowering, it overcomes values, loyalties, and all emotions. Love between two people is often affected by outside issues such as violence, rules, parents, law and eventually death. I think that is why this play is so popular because the issues in it are still very relevant. In this play whenever something loving and passionate happens, something horrific and destructive will happen just after, as if to balance out life. I also believe that to this day not much has changed and that no relationship in unaffected by outside issues and every relationship be with a lover or a friend is without its ups and downs. ...read more.

Middle

The next scene is where Romeo and Juliet first meet and set eyes on each other, it's almost cosmic they are instantly drawn to each other. When they meet there are two sonnets one after the other to emphasise the importance of this moment in the play; it also described in terms of religion. The use of two sonnets one after the other show how deeply the two characters are already intertwined, even thought they hardly know each other. The poetry also signifies high character status. 'Have my lips the sin that they have took;, 'Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again', they instantly talking about the same thing showing their almost supernatural connection. But in this same scene we also see Tybalt's violent reaction when he discovers that the Montagues are at the party and he swears vengeance against the Montagues 'This is a Montague, our foe', 'To strike him dead I hold it not a sin'. When he brings this fact to the attention of Lord Capulet he is scolded for wanting to pick a fight and cause a scene 'Be patient, take no note of him'. This even shows how fate runs through the whole play, as it seems too much of a coincidence that Romeo wasn't thrown out of the party and wasn't attacked by Tybalt. There is a disaster for the young lovers just minutes after they first meet, they discover that they are sworn enemies. ...read more.

Conclusion

Then he instructs Lady Capulet to break the news to Juliet, she absolutely refuses to marry Paris, Lord Capulet then comes into her chamber and mistake her tears for Romeo as tears of grief for Tybalt and he offers her fatherly support. When she refuses to marry Paris her father declares '...hang, die, starve in the streets', 'baggage', 'disobedient wretch...', he threatens to throw her out. He also says 'My fingers itch' suggesting that he wants to hit her, a father's love for his daughter instantly turning into burning hate. She begs her mother for help and support but receives nothing showing the love less relationship between herself and her mother. So Juliet then turns to the one parental figure she truly loves; Nurse. But when she urges her to marry Paris she feels utterly betrayed and so goes to seek the advise of Friar Lawrence. The tragic and violent end to this play is the two lovers committing suicide so they can be together. Juliet even say 'O happy dagger' this is yet another opposition of happiness/violence, she can finally be with her love. However every cloud has a silver lining, due to the tragic event and that both the families have suffered the loss of a child they have an opportunity to right all the wrongs and make a fresh start. In some ways their future ends so societies can begin. So in conclusion I think that love is a victim of hate, I believe that you can't have love without hate or hate without love, as they counter balance each other, so that you can really appreciate the good times. ...read more.

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